Baby Daddy - ON HIATUS
by AshTMI17
Summary: A surprise lands on Jace's doorstep one day. Luckily, the red head across the hall is there to help.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new Clace short story I've had jumping around in my mind for a while. If you've seen Baby Daddy on ABC Family (of Freeform, as it now insists it is called), that show inspired this story. I don't own Baby Daddy or TMI. I honestly have no idea how long the story will be or how often I'll be updating. We'll see how this goes. Enjoy!**

 **Rated T - mostly for language.**

I never considered myself a nurturer. Hell, what twenty-two year old man is? I mean, seriously, I could barely take care of myself, let alone others. Which is why I was especially shocked when I opened my door on a Saturday morning and saw a baby just sitting there in front of my door, along with a baby bag and a few other belongings. Shocked, I immediately brought the baby inside and called out to my roommates, my brother Alec and our friend Simon.

"Guys! Seriously, you need to come out here, _now_!" I whisper-yelled, trying not to wake the baby sleeping peacefully in the baby carrier in front of me.

The two of them were wiping slumber from their eyes as they stumbled out of their bedrooms. "What the hell, Jace? We didn't home until four in the morning last night, how are you even fucking conscious right now?" Simon asked, putting his glasses on. I moved out of the way, showing them the baby currently sitting on our coffee table.

"Jace…" Alec started. "Whose baby is that? And why did you kidnap it?"

I shot my brother a look. "I didn't fucking kidnap it, Alec. I opened the door to get the newspaper, and it was just sitting there!"

"Whose baby is it?" Simon asked. God dammit, I'm surrounded by idiots.

"Seriously, Si, if I knew that, don't you think I would have fucking told you?" The two moved closer, surprisingly calm given the circumstances. Considering that I was panicking beyond belief, I was relieved that they were chill. Alec reached into the carrier and pulled out an envelope, glancing at it before handing it to me.

"It's addressed to you." I quickly tore into the letter.

 _Jace,_

 _She's yours. I tried to be a mom, I really did. But I just can't do it anymore. Don't try to find me. Good luck._

 _Kaelie_

 _P.S. – her name is Lilly._

 _Fuck_. This baby was _my_ baby. I was really fucking hoping it was Simon's gamer spawn with some woman he had an affair with. Kaelie and I dated briefly almost a year ago; it wasn't anything serious to either of us. But now I had a kid? How could I even be sure she was my kid? Just as I was questioning whether I was actually the kid's dad, I heard gasps.

"J-Jace…" Simon started, getting my attention. The baby was crying, clearly she'd woken up. When I looked up, I saw him pointing at the baby. "L-Look at its eyes." I did. And suddenly the world was blurry and there was a ringing in my ears. I was looking into my eyes. The only person besides me that I'd ever seen with gold eyes was my biological father. This was my baby. It was obvious.

" _It_ is a girl, Si. Her name is Lilly. And she's my daughter."

"Jesus fucking Christ Jace. How do you have a _kid_ you didn't know about? And how do you even know she's yours?" I shoved the letter into my brother's chest before he could even finish talking.

"Look at her, Alec. She has golden hair and my eyes. She's basically baby me."

Simon just stood there, frozen, as he read the letter over Alec's shoulder.

"Now what?" Alec asked.

"We call the girls, obviously," I said – that decision was easy. My sister Isabelle and her best friend Clary live across the hall. Usually it's annoying, especially when I'm trying to get rid of a girl the morning after and they run into my sister on the elevator. But at that moment I'd never been happier that Izzy and Clary were there. Simon rushed over to get them and was back within a minute.

"Why the hell did you wake me up before 8 am, Si? You are so not getting lucky for a week for this stunt!" Izzy complained as she entered my apartment. Yeah, her and Simon are dating; they have been for three years. At first it was awkward as hell, my friend dating my sister, but I've accepted it. I think I've handled it better than Alec, who still looks like he wants to throw up when he sees them kiss. I realize that I wished that the baby was Simon's and momentarily felt guilty, until I remember she was fucking _mine_. The desperation was deep.

"Crisis, Iz. We are in crisis."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Clary asked. She looked adorable in her flannel pajamas with her red curls tied in a bun on the top of her head. She's been Izzy's best friend since middle school. As we got older, we grew closer. I definitely considered her one of my best friends now. She's always been there for me. I regularly ignore the weird twinge I get in my gut when she's around. Probably heartburn. I do have acid reflux after all.

I picked the baby up and walked over to my friends. "Meet Lilly… my daughter." Izzy gasped and Clary paled before sitting down on the couch, staring at me without blinking.

"Your daughter? You have a kid? Jace, what the fuck did you do? How is this even possible? You aren't that irresponsible, are you? For fuck's sake, you knocked some random chick up?" Izzy was screaming now, her face red with anger.

"Iz, calm down, let him explain," Clary nearly whispered.

"Thanks Clary. Apparently, Kaelie is her mom. I found her outside our apartment this morning with this note," I said, handing my sister the note. She read it quickly.

"What kind of bitch abandons her baby? And with _you_ of all people. Cause you're _totally_ responsible enough to have an innocent, helpless baby relying on you." God, Izzy was on a roll with the attacks.

"Can I hold her?" Clary interrupted. My head snapped up to look at her and I nodded. She smiled brightly as I placed Lilly in her arms. "Hi Lilly," she cooed at the baby. "I'm Clary, I promise I won't let your daddy kill you on accident." Our friends chuckled and I gave a faux offended look.

"What do we do now?" I asked after a few minutes of us all sitting in silence and staring at the baby, who was happily chewing on one of Clary's fingers.

"Now," Izzy started. " _We_ go shopping. And _you_ call Mom. Alec, call Magnus. We need reinforcements."

An hour later, Clary, Izzy, Simon, Alec, and Alec's boyfriend Magnus were heading out to baby stores and my mom was on her way to the apartment, probably getting ready to murder me. Lucky bastards all left before the yelling could start. Lilly was sipping on a bottle of formula that Clary found in her baby bag. Thank god for Clary, or the kid would have already starved to death. She also showed me how to change a diaper before she left.

"Jonathan Christopher Herondale Lightwood, where are you?!" I heard my mom screech as the door slammed behind her. We never should have given her a key to the apartment; I didn't even have a warning that she was here.

"I'm here Mom," I said, standing up with Lilly in my arms. Mom's black eyes were burning with fire, until they turned down and saw the baby I was holding. _Okay, Jace_ , I thought. _She's like kryptonite for angry moms. Don't put her down._ "This is Lilly." Just then, the little girl opened her eyes and began murmuring contentedly in my arms. It was like she knew my mom was in rampage mode and wanted to diffuse the situation.

Mom's eyes softened as she scanned the little girl over. "She looks just like you when you were her age," she whispered, her eyes misty. My parents adopted me when I was eight, but they'd known me from the day I was born. They were best friends with my biological parents, Stephen and Celine Herondale, and they were my godparents. When my parents died in a car accident, the Lightwoods took me in and treated me as their own. For well over a decade, Maryse and Robert Lightwood had been my parents in every way that mattered. Including making me feel like shit when I did something stupid, like all good parents.

"She does look like me."

"How did this happen?" Mom asked.

"Well, when two people like each other, sometimes they…" My mom glared at me, lifting her hand to shut me up.

"Not the right time, Jace." If looks could kill, I'd be bleeding out.

"Okay, okay. There was this girl, Kaelie. We weren't anything serious, and it only lasted a couple of weeks. I didn't think anything more about it, until this morning, when I found this little one outside the apartment. And she has my eyes and my hair. I just _feel_ it, you know? She's mine."

My mom gave a small smile before reaching out and taking the baby from my arms. "So, what's the game plane?" she asked as she rocked Lilly.

"The crew went out to buy the basics. Luckily, I've been saving for a few years, so I'm dipping into that to buy everything she needs. Alec, Magnus, Simon and the girls have already volunteered to babysit during work hours when I can't work from home. And I should be able to afford a nanny if I need more help…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Jace. I'm retired, Max is in school during the day and your dad is at work. I'll watch her when needed."

"Thanks, Mom. That means a lot."

"She's my granddaughter, Jace. I won't let you screw this up." We sat in silence for a while, just staring at the baby. And then Mom started giving me all kinds of information on doctors, play groups, feeding and sleep schedules, and all kinds of other stuff. Honestly, I started taking notes because it was too much to remember. That lasted until my friends walked back in a few hours later.

Izzy and Alec kissed our mom hello and Clary immediately scooped the baby into her arms. I couldn't deny that seeing Clary with my baby did something to me. Years ago, I'd had a little crush on her (okay, a fucking gigantic, life destroying crush), but I got over it when she started dating Sebastian, a guy she met in freshman history class. When they broke up last month, I told myself nothing changed. But maybe something had. Maybe I still cared about Clary. Or maybe seeing a woman love on your daughter just melts you as a dad, like some kind of biological response. It still could have been because of heartburn. Either way, I wanted to ignore it. So I volunteered to help the guys bring everything in from the car as the girls and my mom fussed with Lilly.

"I've literally never seen Izzy and Clary so excited about something. They were just running around like little girls, picking out everything they liked at the store," Si said as we were bringing the crib upstairs.

"Yeah, well, I'm terrified to know how much you spent." Simon grimaced.

"Uh, I'm gonna let Izzy field that question." _Fantastic._

When we finally got everything upstairs, Alec and I worked on putting the new crib and changing table together while Clary and Izzy unpacked all the new clothes, shoes, bows, and whatever the fuck else they decided to put on my credit card. Magnus and Simon provided commentary as they worked on cleaning and putting away all the new bottles, bowls, and supplies. Shit, babies come with a crap ton of stuff.

 _Finally_ , after the longest day of my life, my mom left and Izzy, Clary and Simon went to the girls' apartment. Alec decided to stay the night at Magnus' house, so it was just me and Lilly. I was exhausted by the time I bathed her, fed her, got her ready for bed, and finally settled her down. By nine, I was crawling into bed and within seconds I was asleep. Until 10 pm, when Lilly started crying. Luckily, I calmed her down quickly.

At 11 pm, she woke up again. And that time, she didn't settle. She just cried and cried no matter what I did. I was on the verge of losing it. Lack of sleep the night before, the stress of the day, and the piercing cries coming from the baby were enough to bring me close to tears. I did everything. I changed her diaper, fed her, and sang to her. I would have fucking thrown myself off a balcony if it would've quieted her.

At 4 am, I finally gave in and called Clary. She was at my apartment in ten seconds. That was why I loved her. Her eyes widened when she took me in, shirtless, my hair a disaster, dark circles under my eyes, and practically shaking with Lilly in my arms. "I'm so tired, Clare," I whispered, ashamed that I was crawling to her for help after less than twenty-four hours as a parent.

"Give her to me, Jace," she said, opening her arms for my daughter. And I willingly handed her over. All I wanted was sleep, no matter the cost. I saw Clary settle down on the couch with a whimpering Lilly before turning around and going to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**I am so overwhelmed by the love you all have for this story. In less than 12 hours, it got more follows and reviews than many of my other stories ever get. I can't thank you enough for the support! Per usual, I don't own anything but the plot. This chapter is unedited.**

The next morning, I startled myself awake as the sun rose into the sky, the smell of bacon in the air. At first, the day before felt like a dream. But that lasted about three seconds before it all came rushing back. Throwing a t-shirt over my head and running my hand through my hair, I opened my bedroom door. And there was Clary, standing in front of the stove cooking and singing quietly. My heart may have stopped beating for a minute. "Hey Clary," I said and she jumped, clearly startled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She turned around and smiled.

"Hi Jace, feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks. Where's Lilly?"

Clary pointed the spatula in her hands towards the living room, where there was a pale pink bassinet next to the coffee table. "Izzy brought the bassinet over this morning, apparently we left it in her car." I smiled, once again grateful for my sister. I made my way over to the baby, and peeked inside to see her fast asleep all swaddled in her new blanket.

" _Now_ you sleep. You're a little bugger," I whispered, affection seeping into my voice. It was shocking how one day had changed so much. There was a surge of warmth through my body as I watched my little girl sleeping. This was my daughter. And I was all she had. My entire life was turned upside down, but in the best way ever.

"Coffee?" Clary asked, pulling me from my bubble.

"Yeah, thanks," I said, sitting at a bar stool at our island. She slid a coffee towards me and I took a giant sip. She even knows how to make my perfect cup of coffee. "So, about last night. I'm sorry, Clary. I didn't know what to do."

She just smiled at me. "It's fine, Jace. You know I'm always there when you need me. And Lilly is all kinds of amazing."

"You're kind of a baby whisperer, Clare. I just hope you slept some." She just smiled again and nodded slightly, her cheeks getting a blush.

"I unpacked the rest of the stuff Kaelie sent with Lilly and I found her birth certificate. You're listed as the father. Lilly's birthday is March 3rd, so she's a little over three months old. Kaelie also signed papers terminating her parental rights and giving you full custody."

"Fuck."

"I know. Bitch was more of a bitch than I originally thought. And if you remember correctly, I _always_ thought she was a bitch. If I ever get my hands on her…"

I fought back a smile. "You gonna defend my honor, Clare? How sweet!" She slapped my shoulder with a good-natured grin. It was always so _easy_ with Clary.

She opened her mouth to answer when Lilly started crying. "Well, I guess that's my cue," I said, making my way to the baby. _My_ baby. Somewhere between me giving Lilly a bottle and burping her, Clary slipped out to go to work. She and her mom own an art gallery, and Sundays are busy days for them. All the rich folks go art hunting on the weekend, apparently. Luckily, I had the day off to spend with Lilly.

We had a very exciting day of googling pediatricians and "how to be a father" while watching _How I Met Your Mother_ and eating leftover Chinese food. Well Lilly didn't eat the lo mein, but she did find me eating it _very_ entertaining. Her little giggle came out of nowhere and I almost spit out my food in shock. Her smile was all gums, and she had some drool hanging off her mouth, but it was still the cutest thing I'd ever seen. I found myself just staring at her. I made this little perfect human. And then immediately I yelled at myself for being such a sap. But then I realized I couldn't help myself.

Lilly was laying in my lap, her head on my bent-up knees and I gave her the bottle as I examined her. She had ten perfect little fingers and toes. There were golden wisps of hair on her little head, a tiny pink bow holding them in place (clearly that was Clary's doing). And her golden eyes seemed to melt into mine as she ate, sucking me in. And right then and there I knew that no matter how scared I was or how much I didn't know what I was doing, I'd figure it out to be the father she deserved.

After she was burped and her diaper was changed, I put her down for a nap in her crib. Flipping on the fancy baby monitor Izzy had bought, I turned off the light and made my way back to the living room. With some peace and quiet, I was able to look at all the paperwork and the receipts from my friends' shopping extravaganza yesterday.

 _Six thousand dollars_. Izzy and the others had spent $6,000 dollars on stuff for Lilly! I could feel the anger bubbling inside of me. Glancing at the clock and seeing that it was early afternoon, I figured Izzy would likely be at her place. So I took the pile of receipts and the baby monitor and crossed the hall. Lilly was peacefully sleeping and I had the monitor, I was sure she'd be fine for a few minutes so I could bitch out my sister.

I made my way into her apartment without knocking, which wasn't anything unusual. She and Simon were on the couch, still in their pajamas and, to my surprise, Clary was in the recliner - I guess she was home early. They looked like they were watching… _fuck_ , were they seriously watching _Lord of the Rings? Again?_

"Isabelle Sophia Lightwood! You spent six _thousand_ dollars of my money? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Okay, the whole being subtle thing was out the window. Apparently, I was going straight for angry as hell. To her credit, Izzy looked slightly ashamed and went silent.

Simon paused the movie. "Hey man, all of us were there. You can't only blame Iz. And babies are expensive. You should've thought about that before you stuck your dick in a lunatic like Kaelie."

"Stay out of it, Si," I nearly growled. Izzy stood up, tears welling in her eyes. She's always been the emotional one. Especially when she can use her emotions to manipulate her brothers. Bitch.

"Jace, babies _are_ expensive. The crib set alone was like two thousand bucks. I didn't have a choice. So blame me all you want, asshole, but it's not my fault. And it's not like you can't afford it anyway, Mr. hot-shot author. So fuck off." With that, my sister ran into her room with Simon following after her.

I just stood there in silence, feeling Clary's glare on me but avoiding her gaze.

"You're an ass, Jace Lightwood."

"Tell me something I don't know, Clary Morgenstern."

"Seriously, your sister loves you. She dropped everything to help you. You didn't give her a budget and told her to buy anything Lilly needed. That's what she did. Now you're pissed at her? Dick move, Jace. Dick move."

I hung my head and sat down on the sofa. "Is this the part where you make me apologize to Izzy and force us to hug it out?"

"Yes," she said immediately. Typical Clary; she's always been the peacemaker between Izzy and I. I just nodded and stood back up to find my sister. Apologies were said and hugs were given and all was forgiven – I think. When we all gathered in the living room again, there was a small cry in the monitor. Lilly.

"I'm going to get back. Dinner at my place later?" They all nodded and I left, baby monitor in hand. But when I tried to enter my apartment, the door was locked. Cue my panic. I started screaming without even realizing it. Clary immediately came out of her apartment, just as my barrage of curses was starting.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I fucking locked myself out and more importantly _Lilly is in there alone_. Ask Si if he has a key, please?" She nodded, quickly darting back into her apartment before emerging again a minute or two later. Meanwhile, I had planted myself in front of my apartment's door, my back against it, with my head in my hands.

"Si doesn't have a key. Figured you'd be home all day and it would be unlocked. Izzy called Alec. He and Magnus went down to the Hamptons for the day, but they are leaving now and heading back. They should be here soon. Just keep calm." She sat next to me, our thighs touching. If I weren't completely freaking out about the crying three month old in my apartment alone I would have been excited by this development in our non-relationship.

"I already failed, Clary. She's been here 24 hours and I already locked her inside of an apartment alone," I could feel the burning in the back of my eyes as I spoke. I _never_ cry. In fact, I hadn't cried since my biological parents died. And yet, here I was choking back tears. What the fuck did having a baby do to me?

I felt a small arm wrap around my shoulders. That's the other thing about Clary. She's ridiculously small. When I was back in my crush phase, I used to call her Leprechaun. You know, some boys push girls they like when they are on the playground; I call them freaky bearded Irish men. Same difference. And she did have the red hair, too.

"It's going to be fine Jace, I promise. Did ever tell you about the first time Luke ever watched Val without my mom?" Luke is Clary's stepfather. He and Clary's mom have a kid named Valentina; she's six now. She's named after Clary's dad who was Luke's best friend and died when Clary was young. Weird family. I just shook my head.

She smiled, clearly reminiscing. "It was a disaster. He _actually_ set the kitchen on fire. Thank god I came home from school when I did. He was planning on bathing her in the kitchen sink… with dish soap."

"Really? Luke? But he's always been so good with Val!" I couldn't help the smirk that met my lips at the thought of cool, calm, and collected Luke having a freak out session over a baby. I wasn't the only one who could totally melt at the sight of my baby!

"Yeah, he learned quick after that. And you will too. But that day, he broke down and said he couldn't do it. Teenage me was comforting my stepfather as my baby sister lay naked next to the kitchen sink and I cleaned ashes from in front of the stove. The point of the story is that it's okay not to be perfect at everything right away Jace, even this."

"But Clary, I am perfect," I said with a smirk. "Even you admitted it. Remember?"

Clary blushed and slapped me on the shoulder. "Dude, I was drunk off my ass. I didn't know what I was saying."

"I know. And thanks Clare. I don't think I could have made it this weekend without you. And to think, only seventeen years and nine months left!" She chuckled and offered to stay with me until Alec got there.

We sat there in the hallway, listening to my baby cry, for an hour. I swear, I was ready to break down the door. Actually, I tried. Damn the reinforced door. The one time in my life I _wanted_ someone to be able to break into my apartment and it didn't budge. But the good news is I may have broken my shoulder trying to break down the door. Clary got a kick out of it, at least.

Meanwhile, Lilly was _still crying_ when Alec finally got home. I almost frisked him to get the keys out of his pocket and threw myself at the door. As soon as it swung open, I ran to my bedroom and found my sweet girl there, in her crib right where I'd left her, with dry tears on her face. Breathing heavily, I picked her up and held her close to me. Her little hands landed in my hair as I cradled her.

What happened to me? Two days ago I was out drinking myself into oblivion and today I'm nearly crying over a baby. I felt rather than heard Clary enter my room behind me. She wrapped an arm around me. It actually felt like we were a family for a second.

I liked it more than I was willing to admit.


End file.
